Utica Baptist Church, Utica, Mississippi

This is as good a definition of hypocrisy as any I have ever seen. It is found in Detours, Tow Trucks and Angels in Disguise, a 1996 NavPress book by Carol Kent. She tells that one year she was speaking at a Campus Crusade for Christ seminar for staff members. One of them had worked the campus of Northern Michigan University, and while there, had found three postcards in a book at the library. Each card was from the same person, but addressed to three different people. See how she described her activities to the different recipients:

(First, to her parents)

Dear Mom and Dad,
Thanks for sending me on vacation. We've toured a lot of interesting places. The historical society was really fascinating and I learned quite a bit about Marquette, Michigan, in its mining days. We've even tried some of the local food since we've been here. Love, Connie.

(The next one was addressed to a friend)

Dear Sue,
Hi! I finally woke up and felt awake after one week of totally intense partying! I figured it was a good time to write before we start again. The guys up here are sensational! I went out with a different one each night. Well, take care, and don't party too much! See ya, Connie.

(And then, finally, one to her boyfriend)

Dear Jim,
Boy, I sure do miss you! I wish you could be here so we could share the fall scenery together. I haven't been doing too much here, just visiting and touring around quite a bit. I can't wait to see you! Love and Kisses, Connie.

 While laughing at the young girl's duplicity, we are nevertheless reminded of times in our own lives when we present different sides of ourselves to different people. Do we have one face we wear when we are at church, and another when at home? What about when we are in a traffic jam? Let’s be careful to stay faithful to Christ, so that no matter the situation, we will always be true to Him.

I designed a graphic once which read, "Let those who do not practice what they preach stop until they catch up."  Pretty good advice.
--Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com

Faithful, Focused, Patient

Jeff Wall, writing in Reader's Digest a few years ago, told that as a police officer he occasionally parked his cruiser in residential areas to watch for speeders. One Sunday morning he was staked out in a driveway, when he saw a large dog trot up to his car.

The dog stopped and sat just out of arm’s reach. No matter how much Wall tried to coax him to come for a pat on the head, he refused to budge. After a few minutes, the officer decided to move to another location. As he pulled out of the driveway, Wall looked back and learned the reason for the dog’s behavior. As soon as the police car moved, the dog quickly picked up the newspaper the car had been parked on and faithfully ran back to his master.

That's funny, but it also says to me that if a dog could be that focused and that committed to his assigned task, then shouldn't we also?  To the dog, the task looked impossible: the paper was under the car and he couldn't get to it. But he didn’t do what we so often do: when we are faced with "impossible" challenges many times we just turn and walk away, saying "Oh well, maybe we weren't meant to do that."

Perhaps today we could learn something from that dog. (1) He was faithful to do what his master expected of him; (2) he was focused on the assignment and let nothing, not even a pat on the head, distract him; and (3) he knew instinctively that the car didn't belong there, and would eventually move, so he patiently waited until that happened.

Here are the lessons for us today: (1) Our Master expects us to be His Body, fulfilling His commands and sharing His Gospel; (2) we should be focused on our assignment and not be distracted by other things that come along, however good they may be; and (3) we should know instinctively that this world is not our home, and be patient as we wait for that Great Day when Jesus will return.

When Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching," that's about as clear as it could be said. No wiggle room. No reading between the lines. No loopholes.

So…is there a car parked on your newspaper?
--Rocky Henriques, uticabc.com